Lady Gaga Teams Up With Staples to Support Education and Inspire Positive Classroom Experiences Nationwide

Lady Gaga is teaming up with Staples, Inc. to support education and create a positive classroom experience through its Staples for Students program. The partnership builds on Staples’s long-standing commitment of supporting education and helping teachers and students. Staples today announced it is donating $1 million to Born This Way Foundation, an organization founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. Born This Way Foundation supports the wellness of young people and empowers them to create a kinder and braver world by fostering kindness, improving mental health resources and creating more positive environments.

For the fourth year in a row, Staples is also donating $1 million to DonorsChoose.org, an organization that has funded more than 900,000 classroom projects for teachers since its founding, benefiting more than 22 million students. Together through this unique partnership with Lady Gaga, her Born This Way Foundation and DonorsChoose.org, the Staples for Students program will help to promote kindness in schools across America and ensure that teachers and students have the resources they need for successful learning in classrooms.

“Teaming up with Lady Gaga, Born This Way Foundation and DonorsChoose.org is an amazing opportunity for the Staples for Students program to support teachers and help create a more positive classroom experience,” said Frank Bifulco, chief marketing officer, Staples.

“There’s a correlation between kindness and overall well-being among students, and we hope that together with these perfect partners that we’ll be able to create an environment for students that will help them flourish in school and propel them into their bright futures.” Lady Gaga said, “Classrooms that are positive and welcoming are classrooms where students can discover their passions and unlock their full potential. I’m excited to work with Staples, DonorsChoose.org and Born This Way Foundation to help teachers and students make their schools more supportive and engaging places. Kindness is one of the most important and most impactful values we can instill in students, and I look forward to working with Staples to foster a positive classroom environment where every student feels safe, heard and empowered.”

The 2017 Staples for Students program is propelled by several sobering statistics: According to the Education Market Association, an estimated 99.5% of all public school teachers use their own money to equip their classrooms – frequently at a cost of more than $400 per year. Sesame Workshop reports that 86% of teachers (and 70% of parents) admit to worrying often that the world is an unkind place for children.

Lady Gaga and Staples are also collaborating on a Public Service Announcement that debuts nationally at the end of June, further emphasizing the need to support teachers and students. “Staples has been a generous and valued partner of ours for years, and we’re so thankful for its continued support of our mission, which has helped bring learning to life for thousands of teachers and students in classrooms nationwide,” said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org.

“By creating school climates that are grounded in compassion and generosity we can help to support the emotional well-being of our young people, ensuring they can learn effectively and grow into happy, thriving adults,” said Cynthia Germanotta, co-founder and president of Born This Way Foundation. “We thank Staples for its generous donation and for understanding that the boundless potential of young people can be unlocked by spreading kindness.”

 Staples is a proud sponsor of the 2017 Lady Gaga Joanne tour promoted by Live Nation. Beginning June 25, 2017, fans will have the opportunity to enter the Staples for Students Sweepstakes for a chance to win a $50,000 scholarship. The lucky grand prize winner will also win a trip to Las Vegas to meet Lady Gaga and see her in concert. Five additional winners will receive a trip to Las Vegas and tickets to Lady Gaga in concert on December 16, 2017. Visit StaplesForStudents.org starting June 25, 2017 for sweepstakes rules and to learn how to enter.

Entries must be submitted before September 16, 2017 at 11:59 PM ET and entrants must be 13 years or older.